Bale handling machine

ABSTRACT

A mobile bale handling machine picks up successive bales in the field and directs the same rearwardly into a receiver in which a stacked load of the bales is formed from the bottom up by virtue of a pusher in the receiver which raises successively formed tiers of the bales to holding structure located above the tierforming level of the receiver. Upon completing the formation of the stacked load, the receiver may be tilted about a horizontal axis to swing the tiers of the load into an upright disposition, whereupon the same pusher used to build the load may be employed to displace the load of bales through the open top of the receiver as a stack. Upstanding load-retaining forks of the receiver may be inclined as the receiver is tilted in order to give the receiver a canted appearance for overhead clearance. The stack may subsequently be retrieved by virtue of the ability of the retaining forks to operate independently of one another for maneuvering under and over the stack and for clamping the same within the receiver for subsequent tilting to a transport position.

United States Patent [191 Godfrey et al.

[111 3,826,389 July 30, 1974 BALE HANDLING MACHINE [76] Inventors: VernL. Godfrey; Bill D. Clark, both of Rt. 4, Warrensburg, Mo. 64093 22Filed: July 24,1972 21 Appl. No.: 274,337

[52] US. Cl. 214/152, 2l4/l QA, 214/6 BA, 214/6 C, 214/6 B [51] Int. Cl.B65g 57/28 [58] Field of Search 214/6 B, 6 BA, 6 C, 6 P, 214/1 QA, 152,501, 505, 7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,924,051 2/l960 More 214/6C 3,278,049 10/1966 Hollyday 214/6 B 3 4l2.882 ll/l968 Stockwell 2l4/50l3,446,369 5/l969 May et al. 214/6 B 3,5l0,0l3 5/l970 Best 214/6 B3,549.023 12/1970 Backman 214/6 B Primary Examiner-Robert J. SparAttorney, Agent, or F irm-Schmidt, Johnson, Hovey & Williams [5 7ABSTRACT A mobile bale handling machine picks up successive bales in thefield and directs the same rearwardly into a receiver in which a stackedload of the bales is formed from the bottom up by virtue of a pusher inthe receiver which raises successively formed tiers of the bales toholding structure located above the tierforming level-of the receiver.Upon completing the formation of the stacked load, the receiver may betilted about a horizontal axis to swing the tiers of the load into anupright disposition, whereupon the same pusher used to build the loadmay be employed to displace the load of bales through the open top ofthe receiver as a stack. Upstanding load-retaining forks of the receivermay be inclined as the receiver is tilted in order to give the receivera canted appearance for overhead clearance. The stack may subsequentlybe retrieved by virtue of the ability of the retaining forks to operateindependently of one another for maneuvering under and over the stackand for clamping the same within the receiver for subsequent tilting toa transport position.

8 Claims, 20 Drawing Figures BALE HANDLING MACHINE This inventionrelates to apparatus for article handling and, more particularly, to amachine having special utility for hay bale handling operations in whichit is necessary to pick up the bales from the field on an individualbasis, build a stack from the bales, and then unload the stack so formedat a selected location.

Bale stacking and unloading machines are not new per se because varioustypes of such machines have been built and used with various degrees ofsuccess in recent years in an effort to provide the industry with meansfor solving the problems associated with the handling and storage ofbaled crops. On the one hand, from a time, labor, and cost standpoint,it is of course desirable to produce a large stack of the bales but, onthe other hand, it must be recognized that handling problems areincreased as stack size increases in view of the tendency of the balesto shift relative to one another during any displacement of theresulting stack, such as during unloading of the stack or retrievalthereof. Accordingly, in order to arrive at an optimization of allfactors involved in bale handling, many machines have resorted tointricate and elaborate arrangements for building and subsequentlyunloading the stack such as, for example, a series of tiltable beds andcooperating pushers for building the stack by upending and displacingsuccessive rows of bales until a stack thereof is finally produced.Others have employed basically a single receiver for the articles withwhich a number of pushers or transfer devices are associated for loadingbales into the receiver, forming a stack from the loaded bales, and thensubsequently employing a third member or apparatus for displacing thestack from the receiver after the same has been tilted to an unloadingposition.

The prior handling machines have thus suffered from an overabundance ofcomplicated mechanical devices and apparatus for building the stack andunloading the same after its complete formation. Moreover, in thosemachines which tilt the completely formed stack about a horizontal axis'for subsequent unloading, no provision has heretofore been made foraccomplishing such unloading (and corresponding retrieval) withinprotective structures which may have low overhead clearance. Thus, priormachines of the tilting receiver type have been severely restricted inthe size of the stack which they can produce and unload, in view of thefact that the effective height of the load increases as it is tilted toan upended position.

Accordingly, in view of these and other shortcomings of prior articlehandling machines, it is one important object of the present inventionto provide a machine for handling stackable articles such as crop baleswhich employs the same pusher or transfer mechanism for both building astack within a receiver of the machine and unloading the completed stackfrom the machine, thereby avoiding the problems inherit in prior complexhandling machines which utilize a multitude of such transfer mechanisms.

Another important object of the instant invention is to provide anarticle handling machine such as for crop bales which is of the tiltingreceiver type in which the receiver with its full load of articlesstacked therewithin may be canted during tilting in order to reduce theeffective height of the receiver and its load to clear low overheadstructures.

An additional important object of this invention is to provide ahandling machine as aforesaid having a tiltable and cantable receiver inwhich upstanding retaining forks of the receiver defining its confinesmay be inclined independently of one another in order to provide boththe canted configuration of the receiver and a clamping action againstthe stack during tilting thereof in order to control the articles of thestack. r

A further important object of the instant invention is to provide ahandling machine as aforesaid in which stack retrieval may be carriedout as smoothly and efficiently as stack building and unloading.

Yet another important object of this invention is to provide a stackingand unloading machine in which the stack-building process is greatlysimplified by virtue of pusher mechanism within the stack receiver ofthe machine which builds a stack from the bottom up by raisingsuccessively formed, complete tiers of articles to holding structurelocated above the tier-forming level of the receiver.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a handling machine embodying theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the machine showingthe receiver thereof in its fully tilted, unloading position with thestack pusher fully extended;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged cross sectional view of the machinetaken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, essentially vertical cross sectional view of therear retaining fork of the stack receiver illustrating the fork in itsnormal and inclined conditions;

, FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view of the tip end ofone of the rear retaining forks;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross sectional view of the tip endtaken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view of the centralholding structure for the bales of the stack, the spikes of suchstructure being illustrated in their fully closed position;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the structure of FIG. 8 with thespikes in their fully open position;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevational view of the centralholding structure with parts broken away and shown in cross section toreveal the longitudinally shiftable nature of the support for the spikesof the structure;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevational view of the outerholding structure for the bales of the stack, parts being broken awayand shown in cross section for clarity;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the machine illustrating the fully loadedreceiver thereof in a partially tilted and canted condition;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the upper members of thepusher mechanism, showing the addition of special cross elements forhandling cylindrical hay rolls as opposed to rectangular bales; and

FIGS. 14-20 are schematic views of the machine illustrating the same invarious stages of stack building and unloading.

With initial reference to FIGS. 1-4, the machine 20 is mobilized byvirtue of a vehicle 22 having a fore-andaft extending chassis 24 andground engaging wheels 26. A receiver, broadly denoted by the numeral 28is tiltably mounted on the rear of chassis 24 by virtue of a pivotassembly 30, and means for supplying receiver 28 with articles'such ascrop bales are located adjacent the forward end of chassis 24, includinga pick up elevator 32, a transversely extending conveyor 34, and afore-and-aft operating loader '36.

The pickup elevator 32 is adapted for raising and lowering about an axis38 by virtue of a hydraulic piston and cylinder'assembly 40 and isdriven by a hydraulic motor 42 coupled with elevator 32 through a gearand belt drive system. The mouth 44 of pickup 32 is open for the entryof bales thereinto, and-a generally arcuate elbow guide 46 at the rearendof elevator 32 directs bales picked up by elevator 32 onto the transversely operating conveyor 34.

The conveyor 34 is adapted to receive bales from elevator 32 inend-to-end relationship and is of sufficient length to accommodate apair of standard sized bales. Over-hanging the conveyor 34 is controlapparatus 48 for maintaining the essentially end-to-end bales in aseparated condition, the purpose of such separation hereinafter becomingapparent. Apparatus 48 includes a shaft 50'which is shiftable axiallywithin a sleeve 52 by virtue of a slot and pin arrangement against theaction of a spring 54. Shaft 50 has a depending plate 56 rigidly affixedthereto, and the opposite end of apparatus 48 has a shaft 58 which isnot shiftable relative to sleeve 52but which is insertable within andremovable from an opening in a second plate 60 swingably supported on ashaft 62; plate 60 may thus be retained in a standby raised position,indicated in FIG. 1, by the shaft 58, or may be released for swingingabout shaft 62 into a lowered position.

Plate 60 is also slidable axially along shaft 62 as well as beingrotatable thereabout, and a second spring 64 yieldably biases anassembly comprised of the sleeve 52 and the shafts 50 and 58 in adirection to retain plate 60 in its raised position. Thus, when a firstbale is moved by conveyor 34into engagement with the plate 56, theentire assembly 50, 52 and 58 is pulled by the bale against the actionof spring 64 to withdraw shaft 58 from plate 60, thereby allowing thelatter to swing downwardly about its mounting shaft 62. Therefore, whenthe second bale is moved by conveyor 34 from elevator 32 toward theopposite side of vehicle 22, the suspended plate 60 blocks its furtheradvancement, thus maintaining the two bales in separation. However, byvirtue of the pin and slot coupling between shaft 50 and sleeve 52, theplate 60 (which has not completely cleared shaft 58 although in itssuspended position) may be pushed along its mounting shaft 62 by thesecond bale to shift shaft 58 and sleeve 52 axially against spring 54 tooperate a switch 66 which controls the loader 36.

Loader 36 is shiftable in a fore-and-aft direction across conveyor 34 byvirtue of a piston and cylinder assembly 68 and cooperating chain andsprocket mechanism 70. A horizontally extending bumper 72 on loader 36is positioned to shove the two end-to-end bales from conveyor 34 intoreceiver 28 upon actuation of loader 36, and an upstanding roller 74engages the suspended plate 60 and swings the latter back up to itsretaining position as loader 36 operates.

The receiver 28 is defined at its front and rear ends by upstandingretaining forks 76 and 78 respectively which are each independentlytiltable about spaced horizontal axes by'virtue of their rotatableconnections at 80 and 82 to a pair of fore-and-aft extending supportbeams 84. The beams 84 are, of course, connected to the chassis 24 atthe pivotal coupling 30 to render receiver 28 tiltable, and a pair ofindividually operable piston and cylinder assemblies 86 and 88interconnect one of the beams 84 with the front fork 76 and the rearfork 78 respectively to power forks 76 and 78 for inclination thereof.An additional main hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 90interconnects chassis 24 and beams 84 for effecting the tilting ofreceiver 28.

Each of the forks 76 and 78 is in essence a framework of members whichextends the full width of receiver 28, and the front fork 76 has ahorizontally extending cross member 92 below which is defined areceiving window (as shown best in H6. 4) to allow entry into receiver28 of the bales pushed from conveyor 34 by loader 36. Although not shownin detail, it is understood that the pivotal connections 80 and 82 forforks 76 and 78 respectively may be of various types and configurations,one of such arrangements taking the form of outer sleeve pipes mountedon beams 84 which rotatably receive inner pipes affixed to each of therespective forks 76 and 78.

The floor or bed of receiver 28 is defined by a pair of laterally spacedapart pushing mechanisms 94, each of which comprises a rectangular, openupper platform 96 operated by a scissors linkage 98 which employs ahydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 100 interconnecting the linkage98 and a corresponding beam 84. Thus, the open platforms of pushermechanism 94 are reciprocable toward and away from the open top ofreceiver 28 defined by the uppermost ends of the forks 76 and 78. I

The lateral sides of receiver 28 are open for the most part, but aredefined for a short distance above beams 84 by identical, fore-and-aftextending holding structures 102 for bales which are elevated by pushermechanisms 94. Each of the structures 102 includes an upstandingframework 104 which is supported by a pair of front and rear cross pipes106 and by a pair of opposed, short cross pipes 108 which extendinwardly from opposite sides of receiver 28, all of such pipes 106 and108 being directly and indirectly supported by beams 84. Each structure102 also includes a series of triple spike assemblies 110 (FIG. 11)comprising three individual spikes 112 limited to swinging in unisonwithone another. A torsion spring 114 for each assembly 110 yieldably biasesthe spikes 112 downwardly about their pivot bolt 116, and the outermostends of each of the spikes 1 12 is upturned slightly as shown best inFlG. 4.

Each row of assemblies 110 may be shifted from to rear for a purposewhich will hereinafter be made clear by virtue of relatively slideable,inner and outer mounting channels 118 and 120 respectively, and a springmay be provided, although not shown, interconnecting channels 118 and120 to bias the inner, movable channel 18 into its normal, non-shiftedposition relative to outer channel 120. outwardly adjustable mountingsleeves 122 (FIG. 4) on the cross pipes 106 for each structure 102permit the effective width of receiver 28 to be varied as required.

The receiver 28 is also provided with a central holding structure 124for cooperating with the outer holding structures 102 in supporting atier of bales above the tier forming level of receiver 28 as willhereinafter be described in detail. The central structure 124 isdetailed in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 and includes a plurality of uprightstandards 126 spaced longitudinally in a foreand-aft direction whichsupport along the tops thereof a pair of horizontal, fore-and-aftextending inner and outer mounting channels 128 and 130 respectively,which are virtually identical to mounting channels 118 and 120 for sidestructures 102. Channels 128 and 130 are thus longitudinally shiftable,and a pair of blocks 132 and 134 in the outer and inner channels 130 and138 respectively confine a spring 136 for yieldably biassing innerchannel 128 to its normal, unshifted position as shown in FIG. 10. I

A pair of dividing panels 138 are disposed on opposite sides of thestandards 126 for sliding abutment with bales within receiver 128, and asingle dividing panel 140 projects upwardly in upstanding relationshipto the inner channel 128 for assisting in dividing the elevated balesfrom one another.

The central structure 124 also includes two sets of inner spikes 142mounted on side-by-side fore-and-aft extending shafts 144. The shafts144 are operably interconnected by a pair of intermeshing cogs 146 (FIG.8) which operate the spikes 142 simultaneously and allow the same toswing between the two extreme positions illustrated by FIGS. 8 and 9. Itis to be noted that the spikes 142 in their open position of FIG.9.project outwardly and upwardly in much the same manner as thecorresponding spike ends of spikes 112 on the outer structures 102, eachcorresponding set of inner and outer spikes 142 and 112 thus normallyprojecting into the section of receiver 28 defined by the correspondingdividing panel 138 and side framework 104.

As shown in FIGS. 5-7, the rear fork 78 has certain of its uprightsprovided with a retractable tine 148 at the tip 150 of such certainuprights. Each retractable tine 148 is swingable about a pivot 152 intoand out of a notch 154 in tip 150 and is biased into notch 154 by atorsion spring 156 on pivot 152. A cable 158 interconnects each tine 148with the rear cross pipe 106 after entrainment below an idler pulley 160such that the cable 158 is operative to activate tine 148 when rear fork78 is inclined as shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 13, each of the open platforms 96 of each pushermechanism 94 may be provided with longitudinally spaced apart anglemembers 162 which are inverted and placed in bridging relationship tothe opposed sides of platform 96 to receive a cylindrical article suchas a rolled crop bale. In this manner, the machine of the presentinvention may be adapted easily for eitherrectangular articles in whichcase the angles 162 will not be used, or cylindrical articles in whichcase such angles 162 will be provided.

OPERATION The handling machine 20 is designed for one-man relationshipto one another onto conveyor 34 for subsequent rearward displacement byloader 36 into receiver 28. Initially, of course, the receiver 28 isdisposed in its horizontal, loading position illustrated schematicallyin FIG. 14, and the pusher mechanisms 94 are both at their lowermostpositions for receiving two spaced apart, fore-and-aft extending rows ofbales 164. Because of the separation of the two bales when initiallypresented to conveyor 34, the two separate rows of bales 164 on oppositesides of central holding structure 124 are formed as pairs of end-to-endbales are successively pushed by loader 36 through front fork 76 ontothe pushers 94.

This operation continues until a complete first tier containing, forexample, fourteen bales is formed on the pusher mechanisms 94. As thelast pair of bales is pushed into position on pushers 94, the first pairof bales actuates a conventional control (not shown) on rear fork 78which in turn actuates mechanisms 94 to raise the completed first tierupwardly to the level illustrated in FIG. 16 and in FIG. 4 for holdingof such tier by the inner and outer spike structures 124 and 102. Inthis respect, it is to be noted that the spike assemblies 110 on theouter structures 102 as well as the spikes 142 on the central structure124 allow movement of its corresponding row of bales in that section ofreceiver 28 only in an upward direction as the corresponding pushermechanism 94 elevates that row of bales in the tier. Thus, the firsttier of bales is firmly impaled by the upturned spikes 112 and 142 toprevent retrograde, downward movement of such tier after the pushermechanisms 94 are retracted down to their initial lower positions withinreceiver 28. Moreover, it is to be appreciated that the torsion springs114 on the spike assemblies 110 operate to shift the bales firmlyagainst the innerspikes 142 as shown in FIG. 4.

After the first tier of bales 164 has been formed, elevated to itsholding level above the formation level within receiver 28, and thepushers 94 subsequentlyretracted to their lower positions, the receiver28 is again in condition for receiving the next bales utilized to form asecond tier. Thus, the tier forming and elevating steps are repeateduntil a load, formed from the bottom up, containing several tiers isproduced and supported above the tier forming level of receiver 28. Whenthe receiver 28 has been filled to capacity and the final tier has beenformed therein on pusher mechanisms 94, the condition illustrated inFIG. 17 is presented. Thus, the final tier of bales is not raised bypusher mechanisms 94, but only rests thereon spaced slightly below thenext preceeding tier as shown.

The pick up elevator 32 may then be raised to its transport position byactuating assembly 40 and the load thus formed within receiver 28transported to an unloading site, such as within a barn. In the eventthat the barn has a low overhead structure such as 166 in I FIGS. 18 and19, the cantability of receiver 28 becomes especially valuable. Afteractuating piston and cylinder to tilt receiver 28 approximately to theposition shown in FIG. 18, it may become apparent that the structure 166will not allow further tilting without compensation in some manner forthe low overhead clearance. Accordingly, as the position of FIG. 18 isapproached, the piston and cylinder assemblies 86 and 88 may be actuatedto the extent necessary to incline front and rear forks 76 and 78 inorder to produce the canted appearance and condition of receiver 28shown in FIGS. 12 and 18. Such inclination of forks 76 and 78 andcanting of receiver 28 thereby induces shifting of the bale tiersrelative to one another and reduces the effective height of receiver 28and the bale load.

Thus, such effective height may be lessened to a degree necessary toassure clearance of overhead structure 166, whereupon tilting ofreceiver 28 may be continued by again activating tilt cylinder 90 toswing receiver 28 to essentially upright condition of FIG.- 19.

As the bale tiers are thus brought into an upright condition as shown inFIG. 19 along with receiver 28, the forks 76 and 78 may be returned totheir normal uninclined condition to reestablish the rectangularconfiguration of the bale load.

The automatic operating controls for the pusher mechanisms 94 may thenbedisarrned and an auxiliary control system actuated to extend the pushermechanisms 94 to their fullest extent as shown in FIG. 20, therebyeffectively displacing the bales from receiver 28 as a stack. In thisconnection, it may be desirable to allow vehicle 22 to move forwardly aspusher mechanisms 94 displace the stacked bales in order to avoidmovement of the upright tiers once the same have been disposedon theground or other supporting surface. After the final now upright tier hasbeen displaced from receiver 28, the pusher mechanisms 94 may bewithdrawn to their innermost positions, and the receiver 28 againretilted to its ready position for picking up and forming the next loadof bales.

It is to be noted that the tines 148 on rear fork 78 are projected asshown in FIG. 12 during inclination of fork 78. Thus, the uppermost tieris effectively precluded from slipping from receiver 20 as the latter istilted to its unloading position. Moreover, it is important to note thatbecause of the individual operability of the front and rear'forks 76 and78, the same may be used to effectively clamp the bales therebetween asreceiver 28 is tilted, thereby providing positive control over thebales'during such operation.

ltis also important to point out that relative shifting between the baletiers is effected in a controlled manner not only through operation ofthe forks 76 and 78, but also by virtue of the shiftable holdingstructures 102 and 124. Thus, even though the lowermost of the tierssupported above the formation level of receiver 28 is shifted inresponseto tilting of receiver 28, such shifting is controlled becausethe respective tines of structures 102 and 124 move therewith, stillimpaling the bales of such tier. Retrieval of the stack or stackspreviously deposited by receiver 28 may be easily effected by virtue ofthe independent operability of forks 76 and 78. After backing up to thestack, the forks 76 and 78 may be spread apart by their respectivepiston and cylinder assemblies 86 and 88 in order to effectivelymaneuver fork 78 beneath the stack and fork 76 over the top of thestack. Subsequently, forks 76 and 78 may be shifted toward one anotherto clamp the stack therebetween, and the receiver 28 then swung upwardlyto its normal position overlying chassis 24 for transport of the stack.Once again, the cantability of receiver 28 is extremely important, sincereceiver 28 and its load may be canted to the extent necessary in orderto clear overhead structure 66 during return swinging.

Also of great significance is the fact that machine 20 is ideally suitedfor stacking and handling cylindrical rolls of crop material as well asrectangular bales. This is due not only to the provision of optionalangle members 162, but also to the formation of one complete tier at atime before any of the rolls of such tier are raised by pushers 94.Thus, the tier formed by the rolls supports those in the next highertier without fear that higher rolls will roll off those below. Previousmachines that formed upstanding, single rows of bales before pushingsuch rows rearwardly could not effectively handle rolls, since theywould not sustain themselves in stacked, single-row formations.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a method of loading and stacking articles, the steps of:

elevating a plurality of articles to one level;

forming a generally horizontally extending plural article tier havinghorizontal dimensions corresponding to those of the finished load atsaid one level from articles elevated thereto, at least one of saiddimensions including a plurality of articles; raising all articles ofsaid tier simultaneously to a higher level while maintaining saidhorizontal dimensions of the load; v

supporting the articles of the raised tier at the higher level; a

repeating the elevating, forming, raising, and supporting steps until amulti-tiered, vertically formed load of articles is produced with eachsubsequent raising step causing further upward movement of thepreviously raised tiers; swinging the load through an arc until thetiers and their said one dimensions are substantially upright; and

displacing the load with said tiers upright to present a free-standingstack.

2. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, wherein theloadis clamped against collapse during said swinging step. I

3. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, wherein isincluded the step of inducing controlled shifting of the tiers relativeto one another during swinging of the load to thereby reduce itseffective height.

4. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, wherein isincluded the additional step of leaving the final tier of the load atsaid one level without further raising.

5. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidarticles are elevated to said one level in succession until a set of thearticles defining the other horizontal dimension of the load ispresented, each set so produced then being displaced horizontally tocomplete said one horizontal dimension of its tier.

6. In an article handling method mm 5, wherein each set of elevatedarticles is displaced horizontally only a sufficient distance to provideclearance for the next set of articles to be elevated, each set afterthe first pushing preceding sets toward their final horizontal positionsin the load.

7. In an article handling method, the steps of:

building a multi-tiered load of articles having a plurality of articlesin each tier;

tilting the load to swing the tiers thereof progressively toward anupright condition; and

inducing controlled shifting of the tiers relative to one another as theload is tilted to thereby reduce the effective height of the load duringsuch tilting.

8. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 7, wherein isincluded the additional step of returning all of the tiers to theirnormal, unshifted relationship with respect to one another as the tiersapproach their upright dispositions.

1. In a method of loading and stacking articles, the steps of: elevatinga plurality of articles to one level; forming a generally horizontallyextending plural article tier having horizontal dimensions correspondingto those of the finished load at said one level from articles elevatedthereto, at least one of said dimensions including a plurality ofarticles; raising all articles of said tier simultaneously to a higherlevel while maintaining said horizontal dimensions of the load;supporting the articles of the raised tier at the higher level;repeating the elevating, forming, raising, and supporting steps until amulti-tiered, vertically formed load of articles is produced with eachsubsequent raising step causing further upward movement of thepreviously raised tiers; swinging the load through an arc until thetiers and their said one dimensions are substantially upright; anddisplacing the load with said tiers upright to present a freestandingstack.
 2. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe load is clamped against collapse during said swinging step.
 3. In anarticle handling method as claimed in claim 1, wherein is included thestep of inducing controlled shifting of the tiers relative to oneanother during swinging of the load to thereby reduce its effectiveheight.
 4. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 1, whereinis included the additional step of leaving the final tier of the load atsaid one level without further raising.
 5. In an article handling methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein said articles are elevated to said onelevel in succession until a set of the articles defining one horizontaldimension of the load is presented, each set so produced then beingdisplaceD horizontally to complete the other horizontal dimension of itstier.
 6. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 5, whereineach set of elevated articles is displaced horizontally only asufficient distance to provide clearance for the next set of articles tobe elevated, each set after the first pushing preceding sets towardtheir final horizontal positions in the load.
 7. In an article handlingmethod, the steps of: building a multi-tiered load of articles having aplurality of articles in each tier; tilting the load to swing the tiersthereof progressively toward an upright condition; and inducingcontrolled shifting of the tiers relative to one another as the load istilted to thereby reduce the effective height of the load during suchtilting.
 8. In an article handling method as claimed in claim 7, whereinis included the additional step of returning all of the tiers to theirnormal, unshifted relationship with respect to one another as the tiersapproach their upright dispositions.